When You're Ready
by dauntlessmaster
Summary: An insight into the lives of Mare and Cal ten years after War Storm. One-shot. Loosely inspired by the song When You're Ready by Shawn Mendes.


**AN: This is just a version of something imagined after War Storm, it may not be what other people pictured. It's loosely inspired by the song When You're Ready by Shawn Mendes.**

I walk into Cal's banquet alone. My silver dress swirls around my feet, the material flowing like water. Gisa has created a masterpiece again.

"Miss, you're name?" A silver man asks me. I stand at the top of the grand staircase. I understand his meaning once the couple in front of me descends the stairs and are announced formally as the Westons.

I smile sweetly at him. "I don't need an announcement tonight." I walk past him and he doesn't stop me. I hear someone hiss at him from behind me, "That's the Lightning Girl, Mare Barrow, you fool!" I shake my head and start walking down the stairs. Not as many people recognize me ten years after my "glory days," though whispers still follow me as I enter the banquet. Perhaps since it is an event for the anniversary of the end of the war, there are people who care and remember that period of history.

"Miss Barrow, champagne?" A waiter asks me. He gives me a welcoming smile.

"Thank you," I take a glass off his tray, returning the smile. I sip my drink and make my way to a secluded corner. From there, I observe the people dance and socialize- even laugh.

I knock back the rest of my drink and snag a new one from a waiter. Today is bittersweet, neither a celebration nor a sad time. Many lives were lost on this day, yet many were liberated too. This day is always a hard for me; at that I finish my second drink.

A moment later, the sharp dinging of a spoon against glass startles me out of my daydream of the war, or better described as a day-nightmare.

"Welcome everyone! Please take a seat, speeches will begin momentarily." The old Premier of Montfort announces. David is the same years later, only no longer Premier, and of course older.

I make my way to an empty seat off to the side of the room. I stumble for a second; maybe I had just a little more champagne than I should have had. The table I sit at is mostly empty since everyone wants to sit in the middle. No one at my table notices me for which I am grateful for. The speeches start with David holding a moment of silence for those who were lost all those years ago.

The speeches continue on and I zone out once someone who wasn't even part of the war makes a speech.

Horns blare and my attention is brought back to the speeches. I wish they were over, I'm starving.

"I present to you, King Tiberias Calore VII!" Everyone bows and I follow along though mine is done halfheartedly. When I sit back down, there's Cal, looking regal as ever. He looks mostly the same but he isn't the same prince I loved.

"Welcome all, thank you for coming tonight. I just want to start off by saying that today, ten years later, we are still here as equals, living in the peace that reds, silvers, and newbloods a like fought and died for." His voice is smooth as I remember. At the sound of it, all of the laughs and fights and everything else we shared rushes back to me. I stand quickly and make my way out to the garden, grabbing a glass as I go. Cal spots me and catches my eye for a second before I look away.

The evening is crisp and cloudless. The stars shine coldly down at me. I make my way through the lit up garden until I find a secluded bench.

Four years. It's been four years since I've seen him in person. I thought I was ready but all seeing him did was chip away at my heart. The tears start next, making the evening breeze chill my damp face. Five years since I've cried from a stupid reason like this one. I start sipping my drink which gives me the buzz I was yearning for. I drink half of it before I smash the glass on the ground.

 _Oh, I miss him. I miss him so much._ I thought I would be fine. But now I'm crying and wishing for him which is stupid of me so I guess I'm not fine after all. I force myself to calm down and once I do, I stand and brush myself off.

I head back inside where everything seems glamorous. I head straight to the ladies' room to splash water on my still slightly puffy face, grateful I didn't wear makeup. I take a deep breath and make my way back out.

I take the same lonely seat I had before. I stare absently at Cal talking to some woman across the room. He looks directly at me then and our eyes meet. He hesitantly smiles and I force a quick smile before blushing and looking away. I quickly stuff some fish in my mouth.

"Hello stranger." I jump and choke on my fish. _Damn fish._ I cough and meet Julian's apologetic face.

"Hello Julian," I greet, my voice scratchy. He chuckles.

"Sorry about the scare. I saw you alone, thought you might want some company."

"I'm okay." He only smiles more.

"Right. How about a dance?" He offers his hand. I sigh and take it, dropping my act.

He guides me to the middle of the room and we dance slowly to the soft music. "How have you been?"

"Good. I've been moving around, helping the old red slum cities," I answer him.

"That's good, I'm proud. How is the family?" I give him a genuine smile and let out everything I've been holding back. I tell him everything with excitement and he laughs at all my stories.

"How are you guys?" I ask once I'm done.

"Well, I'm doing good, getting old," I chuckle and shake my head, "but you're wondering about Cal, right?" I bite my lip and don't answer. He laughs lightly.

"I wasn't asking."

But he sees right through me. "He's a good leader, Mare. The kind of leader I know you would want him to be." I feel a small sliver of pride within me but with it, sorrow at the thought of him as king.

"I wasn't asking how he was doing as a king, I was asking how he was really doing." I answer.

"Ah, but I thought you weren't asking," he teases. I try to hide my smile but it peeps through.

"Fine I was asking," I concede.

"Well then, I don't know. He really doesn't share that stuff with anyone," Julian answers seriously.

"Oh. I..." I meet Cal's eyes across the room again and then the words are just flowing out of my mouth with no filter, "Will you ask him if I can speak to him alone? Please?"

He sighs. "Wait here." Once he leaves I fully register what I asked. I cringe. _So stupid._ But still I wait for Julian to come back.

He finally emerges from the crowds with another smile.

"He says to wait for him in his room. Do you know where they are?" He informs me. I shake my head. He waves over a guard, "Bring this lady to the King's room please." The guard dips his head and offers me his arm.

"Thank you, Julian," I say as we start walking off.

"Of course, Mare."

The guard doesn't talk to me so I don't talk to him even though I feel very awkward. Thankfully the walk is short. He opens the large door for me.

"Thank you..."

"Norman." His voice is gruff.

"Thank you, Norman." I say. He bows quickly and leaves me alone in the room.

The room is dark except for the glow of the fireplace. A bed sits in the back of the room, unmade. I take a seat in one of the large chairs in front of the fireplace. Next to the chair is a table stacked with books. The top one reads "Norta's Fatal War" in bold red letters. A bookmark sticks out and catches my eye. Opening the book, I pull out the bookmark.

It's a letter from me. One that I wrote directly after the war. I scan it quickly. It's boring and there's nothing special about it except that I signed it "one day I'll come back." _Stupid._

"I reread that letter often," Cal's voice startles me and he starts to chuckle.

"Why?" He doesn't answer for a second and we just stare at each other. His hair is cut shorter than I remember and his face has aged. His eyes scan my face too.

"It gives me hope," He finally answers. I don't say anything. Cal moves to sit in the chair next to mine. "Why are you here, Mare?"

"I... don't know," I murmur.

"Okay. Well, what have you been up to?" I blink at him and he winks.

"I just returned to the Stilts. To see my family," I say.

"Is it still impoverished? Is your family doing okay?" He asks, concerned. What he really means is _are you impoverished?_

"Oh, no. My family is good, all my siblings are married now; who would have thought. Lots of nieces and nephews too," I smile at the thought of them. Cal smiles with me.

"So does that mean you're married too?" He looks down at my empty ring finger and I feel awkward.

"No, I haven't met anyone," I say slowly, looking away to the fireplace, "Have you?" I ask quietly.

He answers after a second. "No. I tried but there was no one that I could see myself with. I was still waiting because there just was never anyone... quite like you," He says sadly.

"Oh," I still don't look at him.

He clears his throat. "So, what have you been doing these past years?"

I finally look at him. "Well I've been travelling to red cities. Helping rebuild so they can support themselves. Sometimes I went back to the Stilts just to see everyone. Ever since my dad passed, I just couldn't return as often. It's starting to get easier."

"I'm so sorry. He was a good man, I admired him," Cal speaks softly.

"He always pushed me to come back here... to you. He believed you were the one despite our... differences," I confess. Cal laughs softly.

He takes a deep breath and pulls my hand into his warm ones. "Mare, why are you here?"He asks again, "I've waited for you ten years now. I told you I would always be here when you decided you were ready. I want to know if you are," Cal gently questioned. I can't bring myself to break his gaze.

"What about you? You have the crown, your responsibilities. I don't want to be a prisoner next to you," I respond just as gently, surprising him and even myself with my tone.

"I would never hold you back, you know I can't anyway," I give his hands a warning shock now but he ignores it, "What about us? Things are different now. There are representatives that vote now. I don't really control that much. I'm just the face of leadership."

I snort, "That's pushing it just a little." He smiles.

"Okay, but it's pretty true, I just enhanced it. My days aren't nearly as stressful and I'm not busy every second of the day. Things are good. Mare, you can still make a difference when you're here," He gives me his heart wrenching speech. _Damn, why does he have to be so good of a speaker all of a sudden?_ "Here with me," He adds. I sigh.

"I just don't know if I'm ready, or if I'll ever be ready," I whisper.

He sighs and lets my hand go. I feel cold without his warmth. And I know I'm kidding myself. I want him and I need him. My life felt wrong without him in it these past years. But I still don't know if I'm ready.

Cal stands up in front of me. He kneels down and takes my hands again.

"Mare, I will never stop waiting for you. I will do anything you need if you just stay. We are made for each other and I'll never let that go." He pleads in front of me.

"What about my family, Cal?" I weakly question. His eyes glow with warmth and I see that he knows he's getting through to me.

"You can visit them all the time. They can visit you whenever. You will never be confined here. You can travel and help everyone whenever you want. The only difference in your life will be me. Please, come back to me Mare," He begs me.

I stay silent. His hands are warmer now. "Please, Mare... I never stopped loving you."

With those words I can't stop the tears that well up in my eyes. "I still care about you, I just don't know if I can do it," I whimper. He wipes away the tears that almost fall.

"Hey," he says softly, "We can figure it out together." Cal kisses my hand softly. I stand up at last but I don't drop his hand.

"Okay," I say at last. Cal's face breaks into a smile and then mine does too.

He picks me up and hugs me, spinning me around. "Okay?" He asks me for confirmation.

"Okay," I confirm. I kiss him then for the first time in ten years. His lips are soft and hungrily kiss mine. I run my fingers through his short hair. We break a part once for air before our lips dance again.

I lock my legs around his waist and he groans. He carries me to his bed and lays me down gently. I pull him down with me and straddle him. I pepper kisses all over his face and I feel him laugh against me.

Cal wraps his arms around and brings me back down on the bed. My hands move across his body and he places random kisses across my face. It feels so right. I can't believe I was stupid enough to stay away from him for all these years.

"We will make it work," he murmurs, tracing my earrings with his finger. I snuggle deeper into him.

"I missed this. I missed you." I murmur. Cal kisses my forehead. I pull him back and our lips meet again. We can't get enough of each other, it's been too long. We stay like this all night, whispering sweet nothings to each other, staying tangled in the sheets. We forget the celebration below us because our celebration here is all we want.

We will make it work because he is mine and I am his. It only took me ten years to realize I was always ready to be with him.

"I love you."

* * *

 **Thank you for checking out my story, let me know what you thought! Also let me know if you want to see more :)**


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